Wow

[RN19802008]

My first day on L&D-I was so excited, I have wanted to be in this field for so long. I was so disappointed with how unprofessional my new coworkers are though. My preceptor talked about "some women's ******* smell" and "before a csection you have to shave the women who have big ******* bushes" and that was just a snippet of all the cursing I heard. And the eye rolling when women were experiencing pain or anxiety. One woman was having a hard time breastfeeding so the nurse just gave her a bottle of formula. I hope I do not become so jaded and crude. I am sad and now a little disheartened about this journey. Any thoughts?

[PinkNBlue, BSN, RN]

It's always challenging coming into a new group of people and having to figure out the culture. I always try to be aware of who is in earshot when I am talking; having patients overhear something they shouldn't is definitely unprofessional. It drives me crazy when staff acts like a curtain is a sound proof wall. A pediatrician once told a new father that is baby had unexpected deformities in the middle of a full recovery room and I cringed the whole time.

That being said.....I feel lucky to have a great rapport with my colleagues and sometimes at 2am things slip out. L&D can be a very stressful environment and people deal with this in different ways. I'm not saying that behavior is justified, but I do understand how it can happen with no bad intentions.

Agreed.